I was very late to learn to read and in the early 50s, the teachers I'd had were neither patient or gentle. A teacher I had in the 4th grade, instead of lecturing me, gave me a book that looked very interesting and sitting with a child's dictionary and that book I learned to read somewhat. The name of the book was 'Bull Dozer' and looking, a used copy of it on Amazon is $90. Later in the 7th grade, my teacher noticed my idle fiddling and handed me an encyclopedia to read. By the end of that year, I'd read them all.

Not attempting to put a label on it, no one spoke of ADD, ADHD, or Asperger's. I was mostly bored to death. Around that time, I discovered Sci Fi, and that provided an escape from the horrifying stepfather. At night, I would hide in my tiny room, and try to escape.

Looking, there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of good or great Sci Fi Authors. I would not discover that Andre Norton was a woman for a long time. Anne McCaffery is one of my favorites. Jean Auel is highly regarded but never captured my fancy.

I do remember reading a rather good Sci Fi book where there was no transgender, or confusion about sexuality. Scientists had fiddled with our genetics and forestalled puberty. Most took a pill, after College, or Trade School and then they chose to be male or female. By their late 20s they had properly matured. Would that it could be that way today.